In an alchemical ritual gone wrong, Edward Elric lost his arm and his leg, and his brother Alphonse became nothing but a soul in a suit of armor. Equipped with mechanical "auto-mail" limbs, Edward becomes a state alchemist, seeking the one thing that can restore his brother and himself... the legendary Philosopher's Stone.

Won the 49th Shogakukan Manga Award in the Shounen category.Won the 15th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Award New Artist Prize.

Now, before FA-fanatics jump me, allow me to affirm that I hold this series dear to my heart. I adore Al and Ed, and the cast of secondary characters all possess dynamic, interesting tales. Arakawa did a phenomenal job with this manga, and though I never did cry while reading, Fullmetal Alchemist indeed hit my heart during certain chapters. It's truly a work that challenges you to see the darker side of humanity and government corruption, which is all the more impressive given that this series takes place in a highly fictionalized world. Definitely, definitely recommend it.

HOWEVER: if you do not typically read shounen action manga, the hype may seem overdone.

Such was the case in my situation.

It'd be a stretch to say that I was disappointed, but after finishing FA, I was not screaming and fangirling and stamping the manga with every stamp of approval that I own. I felt an emotional satisfaction, and I was very happy that I stepped out of my manga comfort zone to read this. I will concede that the work is very well written and engaging. But as someone who reads predominantly shoujo romance manga, I will ask that new-shounen action readers begin Fullmetal Alchemist with not TOO high an expectation. This manga could change your entire life-- it has for many fanatic readers. But remember that it is only a manga (and an anime... and a video game... but you get the point.) Don't expect it to be the epitome of the best of the best, and I think you'll enjoy these 27 volumes tremendously.

I can't believe I was busy keeping up on Bleach and Naruto when this gem was there all along. I had watched about 3/4 of the first anime series and never got a chance to finish it, and never got a chance to watch the Brotherhood remake, but I had been wanting to read the manga for a while. Just finished it and it was an amazing ride. Read it, you will not be disappointed.

Let's jump into the story, so much things about friendship, hard time, tragedy, comedy, a great journey and awesome ending. I don't read much shounen but I usually like it. But this one... not just like, but I LOVE this ♥ ♥ ♥ !

I really thankful the mangaka never forget someone who appear at the early volume. Some manga usually forget 'they' who appear at the beginning. But FMA still count them and they even colouring the manga with them (even if it's truly doesn't really important things, but I like it). Some protagonist have consistent personality, and maybe the art doesn't really beautifull detail and such thing. But it's paid because the story and plot is so asdfghjk♥ .

This series should be read by everyone. I've always loved this series, and it has a special place in my heart, but I feel that this experience should be shared. If you happen to come across this manga for the first time, read it. It will not disappoint. The characters, plot, and other elements have all been carefully thought out and carefully portrayed. If you want a series with fantasy elements, this is it. If you want one with action and adventure, this is it. If you want extremely likable characters, this is it too. If you want reliable and strong female protagonists, look no further. Everyone, even the villans, are well shaped and likable. The plot is unique and highly addictive, not to mention philosophical, spiritual/emotional, and somewhat political. READ IT NOW!

Possibly the greatest manga you will ever read. Every aspect of it is well balanced to a fault, it has comedic moments, moments of tragedy, bad-assery, drama and an ending that will grab you by the neither regions and make you climax literally.

This series is the very deinition of perfect manga. The story develops really nicely with interesting and loveable characters, intriguing plot, and unexpected surprises.

The characters are mostly round and believable. You can totally understand the reason why the characters (major and minor) do such actions; the characters' background is so compelling. The story also brings you to tears, excitement, and even pondering. There are so much stuff here that makes you stop and think for a second.

The comedy, the tragedy, the philosophy and last but not least, the ending. All of it was done mastefully and I have rarely seen a better paced manga, there are other for sure (Kingdom, Midori Days) but they are few in number.

I'm not saying this piece of work is completely perfect, there are some bumps here and there, but the characters' actions and the humanity of their actions (which is basically what the manga is all about) remains so pure and realistic, it shines with a brightness that burns.

Its one of the best manga I have ever read! ITS EPIC! The story is just WOW.....There is an awesome plot and all the way I read it, I felt like I would die out of excitement! The art, the action, the characters, the antagonists..everything is the best. Hawkeye OMG! And The Colonel...and Ed and Al...and Winry and everyone else. The ending was also awesome.... I can never get tired of a manga like this. There were always surprises and things were sometimes so unpredictable. Omg its really awesome! It is detailed and Lovely. The whole story is breath taking and amazing.

This is a once in a lifetime find for you, you will never come across anything of this level in shounen mangas. You might think that this is an overstatement, but then my good sir I ask you to take a serious look at our current POPULAR/ ON-DEMAND shounens: Naruto, Bleach, One piece, Fairy Tail, HSDK etc.. Yes some of these are better than the others, however they lack what I'd like to call a "healthy-flow". Some of them drag for a lifetime without even reaching halfway, others run out of ideas, some of them get old etc. This is not what happens in this manga, it's not hopelessly long that it needed 1000+ chapters to uncover a story, it's not cheesy, it doesn't abuse ecchi etc. This manga is something the author poured his soul into - how can I tell? When I finished reading the story ( it was about 1 hour over midnight), I went to take a long walk to think about things. Hell I think I even matured a bit after reading it, that is not something I usually come across - thus I treasure this feeling.

I'll be the first one to admit that it's not flawless, it does have certain cheese-factor elements, but they do not overwhelm the true goal of the story. I can go on and talk about each arc, however that would probably be a heck of an essay to write, thus I decided to write eleven statements that explain the hidden themes of this manga:

1) People believe in lies due to desire of fear2) Harm can result from good intentions3) Passion rules reason4) There is magic in sincere forgiveness, in the forgiveness you give, but more so in the forgiveness you receive5) Mind actions over words6) Only allow reason to rule you7) Life is in the future8) Deserve Victory9) Contradictions don't exist10) Ignoring truth is betraying yourself11) Seek truth THROUGH yourself

Each of these lines can be linked to the Journey we undertake as we read this masterpiece. 10/10 from me. I would even go as far as call it a classic within the Manga Genre. Overstatement? Show me one shounen that questions the morale of being a human the way this author pulled it off.

Because this story reads like a book -- with pictures -- and a VERY good book at that. I've read enough manga to say that development is a weak point in this media for storytelling. FMA, however, has both plot progression and character development.

Additionally, this manga is absolutely hilarious -- really well-placed comedy! But there's tragedy as well. FMA has everything I could wish for in a good story.

Arakawa-sensei is a master storyteller. I suggest reading her other works as well.